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Posted on 10/13/2001 2:15:05 PM PDT by dogbyte12

N E W Y O R K, Oct. 13 — Preliminary tests on letters mailed to NBC News in New York, Sony Pictures Studios in California and a Microsoft Licensing office in Reno, Nevada, have indicated the presence of anthrax, officials reported today.

Meanwhile, a suspicious letter received by a New York Times reporter tested negative for any anthrax or chemical strains. The letter, received Friday, had the same handwriting and St. Petersburg, Fla., postmark as a letter to NBC News, and also contained a white powder.

The latest reports of anthrax come less than a week after a Florida man died of the inhaled form of anthrax and two of his co-workers were exposed to the bacteria. In that case and others reported around the country, authorities say they have no evidence linking the anthrax to the Sept. 11 attacks on America.

President Bush referred to the infections today in his radio address to the nation.

"I understand that many Americans are feeling uneasy," he said. "But all Americans should be assured: We are taking strong precautions. We are vigilant, we are determined, the country is alert."

Latest Reports: Nevada, California

A source close to the federal investigation into other possible anthrax incidents told ABCNEWS that two letters at other locations also have shown positive results in preliminary tests.

A letter sent to Sony Pictures Entertainment in Culver City, Calif., tested positive, and a Sony employee is hospitalized in Los Angeles for unspecified reasons, the source said. Investigators launched their probe into that possible anthrax incident Friday after an employee opened an envelope containing a suspicious white powder.

And another letter sent to a Microsoft Licensing office in Reno, Nev., also tested positive for anthrax in preliminary examinations. The envelope, which contained a check and was initially sent out by Microsoft, was tampered with and returned with pornographic materials attached.

Today, Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn said a third anthrax test on the letter had come back positive and state officials would send the letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far, no one has tested positive for the disease or become ill. Six people came into immediate contact with the letter and they are the only ones being monitored for possible exposure to anthrax, Guinn said.

"This is a very, very low risk to public health," Guinn said.

Sources told ABCNEWS that the letter was postmarked from Malaysia, a known stronghold of Osama bin Laden.

NBC, New York Times Scares

Officials revealed Friday that Erin O'Connor, NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw's personal assistant, contracted cutaneous, or "skin," anthrax — less dangerous than inhaled anthrax and rarely fatal if treated. On Sept. 25, O'Connor opened a piece of suspicious mail with powder inside that was postmarked Sept. 20.

Tests showed the powder was negative for anthrax but today, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announced that a second threatening letter postmarked Sept. 18 was sent to Brokaw and this one tested positive for anthrax.

Unlike the Sept. 20 letter, which sources said had a St. Petersburg postmark, the Sept. 18 letter was postmarked in Trenton, N.J.

At The New York Times, officials announced that a powdery white substance in an envelope sent to one of its reporters tested negative for anthrax and other dangerous biological materials. The CDC is conducting more tests but results are not expected until Tuesday, said Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis.

The Times envelope was similar to the one received by the infected NBC employee, and was also postmarked from St. Petersburg, Fla., and contained no return address. Giuliani said the handwriting on both pieces of mail was similar, but offered no further details.

New York on Edge

New Yorkers streamed into emergency rooms Friday after an assistant to NBC anchor Brokaw was infected with anthrax, intensifying fear about bioterrorism in a city and nation already on edge.

Several floors of the NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Center will remain closed for at least a few days as health officials test the building. So far, 358 employees have been tested along with other workers in the area.

Giuliani continued to reiterate today that there was no reason for public alarm.

"Early indications are that there doesn't seem to be any spread of the disease," he said. "I think people now understand a lot more about anthrax than they ever wanted to know. It can be treated and cured. People should not be nervous or overwrought about it."

Cutaneous anthrax, the type the NBC employee has contracted, accounts for 95 percent of all known anthrax cases, and is rarely fatal with appropriate treatment. Many people recover completely even without treatment. It typically comes from a cut or abrasion that allows the anthrax bacterium to enter the skin.

Anthrax is not contagious — that is, it cannot be passed from person to person and can only be contracted by direct exposure to spores of the bacterium

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